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Listen, I love whiskey. I like to think it’s in my blood and somehow ties me to my Scottish ancestry. But really, at the end of the day, I just want a stiff drink. And I’m a neat girl – I don’t even add a drop of water or those novelty ice rocks. So when I dared to make a festive whiskey cocktail, I wasn’t 100% thrilled.
For starters, I had never even made a cocktail before. Until now, my idea of a fancy drink was my aunt Mary’s Christmas punch (made with Passion Pop, I’ve since discovered it). Or occasionally at home I can make a humble gin and tropical juice if the mood takes me. No measurement, of course.
I always thought cocktails were an expense reserved for OTT parties celebrating a big achievement. All that scrambling and mixing seemed like a lot of work when I could pour myself a glass of wine. But one man changed everything for me: Stanley Tucci. The greatest gift the world will ever know is Stanley Tucci’s home videos teaching us how to make classic cocktails.
He makes it look like a class act — and he’s made it a 5 p.m. ritual every day. Now it’s a daily routine that I could follow. So, in Stanley’s spirit, here’s my attempt at an old-fashioned Thanksgiving. Yes, a festive whiskey cocktail. It’s the season and all.
Ingredients:
60mL Westward American Single Malt Whiskey
8mL chai tea syrup
3 dashes of old-fashioned bitters
Cinnamon feather
Method:
Pour the whiskey, chai tea syrup and bitters into a mixing glass with ice and stir to dilute a little. Then strain it into a highball glass with a big ice cube (big ice spheres are great here because they take a while to melt). Top it all off with a cinnamon garnish, but flame one end first to bring out the flavor (I used my gas stove because I don’t have one of those little scorch burners). And tah-tah!
It’s so easy that I made myself two on a Saturday night at home for the sole reason that it was a Saturday night. Tip: Novelty glasses definitely up the mood. There’s something about swirling a drink in a crystal glass that instantly makes you feel classy. Like you could hang out with Stanley Tucci for real.
